


straight on til morning

by galpalaven



Series: Buzzfeed Unsolved AU [5]
Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Domestic Bliss, Domestic Fluff, Don't copy to another site, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Modern AU, buzzfeed unsolved au, pre-wedding jitters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-12
Updated: 2019-03-12
Packaged: 2019-11-16 09:17:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18091607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/galpalaven/pseuds/galpalaven
Summary: On the eve of their wedding, Nox and Julian find some time to themselves.





	straight on til morning

It’s a quarter to two, and he’s well into his third nightcap, trying in vain to calm the nerves twisting his stomach because _oh my god, I’m getting married tomorrow_ , when someone knocks on his hotel room door.

He almost doesn’t answer it, not in the mood to get dragged out to a bar to get wasted (as Kostya had suggested at the rehearsal dinner), until whoever it is calls his name.

“Ilya? You’re not really asleep yet, are you?”

He nearly trips over his own feet in his haste to get to the door, and scrambling to let her in (she is the one person he’s most desperate to see, he’s seen so little of her this week), he forgets to undo the chain before he tries to swing the door open. Cursing under his breath, he stammers a nervous little, “Just—just a moment, darling.”

Julian’s face burns as he closes the door, undoing the chain and then opening the door with significantly less gusto, rubbing the back of his neck bashfully as light from the hallway floods into his room. His fiancee is wearing one of his old flannel pajama tops, so long that it comes down almost to her knees, and when he glances farther down he finds that she’s wearing little else but a pair of flip-flops.

“Is... something wrong?” he asks after a beat, eyeing her face warily. His anxiety is already forming a knot in his throat, but she just smiles, and tilts her head.

“Can I come in? Or is that _forbidden_?”

He snorts. “I don’t think it’s forbidden, but it _is_ frowned upon, generally speaking, for the married-couple-to-be to spend the night before the wedding together,” he says, but he’s stepping aside as he speaks, bowing playfully. “But, we’ve never been a traditional couple, have we?”

She giggles as she breezes into the room, but it sounds off, and his nerves start to gnaw at him a little harder as he closes the door behind him. As he’d been hiding from pestering friends and family, the only light in the room is the light from the city pouring in through sliding glass door leading to the balcony—and that’s not much, considering his room faces the sea, so he can’t quite see her expression as she hesitates in the little hallway.

“Nox? You’re not—not having…?” he starts, but then catches himself, unable to get the words out.

If she’s having second thoughts, he should know now, but… the idea that she might want to back out hurts.

She blinks owlishly at him in the dark, before she snorts, giggling to herself, bringing her sleeve-covered hand to her mouth to stifle her laughter. “God, Ilya, you really think I’m having second thoughts?” When he just grimaces, she sighs and pads back over to him, sliding her arms around his waist and burying her face in his chest. “I just can’t sleep.”

“Ah,” he says, relief washing over him as he slides his arms around her as well, rubbing his hands up and down her back. “Nervous?”

“Mm, not quite. More like _very excited_ , I think. Excitement that has overwhelmed me and turned me into an anxious mess, but still excitement,” she mumbles into his shirt. Already, he can feel the tension seeping from her muscles as she tightens her arms around his waist. “Wine didn’t help, so I had to resort to the one thing I knew would definitely calm me down.”

He knows what she’s hinting at, but he decides to tease anyway, leaning down to kiss the top of her head. “Hm. Xanax and vodka?”

She smacks him lightly on the side of his hip, more of a pat really, but he still makes a show out of whining about it— _“Owww, Noooox!”_ —as she dissolves into more giggles.

“No, you big dummy,” she laughs. “ _You_. I meant that I needed to come spend time with _you_.”

Nox tips her head back then, looking up at him softly, bright, amber eyes darting around his face, lingering on his lips. After a few moments, he feels her fingers dig into the back of his shirt, tugging a little as she presses up on her toes, trying to get closer.

“ _Ilya…_ ” she breathes, with just enough longing that his stomach flips as he leans down to meet her, kissing her soft and slow, unwinding his arms so he can cup her face in his hands. They kiss for a moment, until she unwraps her arms from around him and reaches up to touch his hands on her face, dropping back down to the flats of her feet. “I’ve missed you this week.”

He grins, pressing a kiss to her forehead, and says, “After this three whole week vacation we’re about to have, you might be dying to get away from me.”

“Not likely,” she laughs, stepping away, letting her touch linger on his hands until she’s stepped too far away to keep holding them. She drifts over to where he’d left his drink on the table, raising it curiously to her nose, before she takes a sip, humming into the glass. “It hasn’t happened yet, anyway, so I doubt our literal honeymoon will be the kicker.”

“Don’t straight people always say marriage ruins relationships?” he asks flatly, crossing the room and plucking his drink out of her hands as she laughs at the look he gives her.

“Straight people ruin their own relationships by dating people they have nothing in common with and barely tolerate. Fix me one, too, would you?” Her request is quiet as she drifts over to the window, brushing the curtain aside a little more to gaze out at sea.

“Well, since you asked so nicely…”

“Oh,” she says, and he bites at his lip to hide his grin at her tone as he moves to the mini fridge below the tv. “Excuse me. How about: _Oh please, Ilya, light of my life, apple of my eye, my dearest love, the most beautiful and wonderful man for whom I would gladly die a thousand deaths if it meant I could kiss your lips one more time_ — _will you please make me a drink, please?_ ”

He laughs, burying his face against his wrist where he’s rested it on his knee as he kneels to get more coke for her coke and rum. “Are you _sure_ you need another drink?”

She laughs, too, and it sounds much lighter than it had when she first walked into the room. “I didn’t come here for a lecture about my drinking habits, you know.”

Julian hums in acknowledgement, and they both fall into mostly comfortable silence as he pours her a drink. When he turns back to look at her, he finds her staring out to sea, fiddling with her lower lip, a pensive look on her face. She only turns to look at him when he bumps her glass lightly into her shoulder.

“Thank you, baby,” she sighs, taking the glass as he reaches up and brushes some of her hair back behind her ear, leaning in to kiss her temple gently.

He trails his touch down between her shoulder blades as she takes a drink and turns back to the sea, rubbing a few circles before she shifts so that she’s leaning into his side, and his arm settles around her shoulders, pulling her close as they both let out a deep breath. Her free hand settles over his forearm, thumb rubbing gently across his skin, and she leans her head back onto his chest as they both drink.

She breaks the silence again after a few minutes.

“I’m surprised you haven’t run me off yet.”

He finishes the last of his drink as she speaks, and swallows thickly as he peers down at her. “What do you mean?”

She shrugs. “Just thought you’d be more—I don’t know, superstitious? It’s technically the day of our wedding and it’s bad luck for the bride and groom to see each other before the wedding, right?”

“Mm, I suppose. Sounds like you’re more worried about it than I am, though.”

Nox takes a longer, deeper drink of her drink in response, downing the rest of it as he watches on with raised brows. She makes a face, shuddering as the cold hits her, before turning to press her face into his chest.

“Nox?”

“...maybe a little bit.”

“And yet, here you are.”

“Oh hush,” she chides, muffled against his shirt, but he can see the ghost of a smile on her lips anyway. “You’re my best friend. Bad luck or no, I wasn’t getting any sleep in that room by myself, with my anxiety like _this_. I needed you.”

 _God_ , he loves her.

Smiling to himself, he leans down to press a kiss to the top of her head, arm around her shoulders squeezing affectionately. “Am I helping?”

She nods, and he can feel a little more tension seep from her form as she lets out another quiet sigh. “...you smell good.”

“I smell good?”

“Mhm. Makes me feel safe.”

Warmth rushes over him from the top of his head all the way down to his stomach at her soft words and, face burning, he presses his grin into her hair, pulling her just a little closer. “I thought my cologne was supposed to be sexy?”

Nox giggles at him, tilting her head back so she can look up at him. “It is sexy when I’m in the mood. That wasn’t usually why I liked to sleep on your pillow when you were back at your old apartment, though.”

“You used to sleep on my pillow?”

Her eyes drop to his lips as she nods, inhaling as she says, “I missed you a lot when you went back home.”

He leans down to kiss her gently, unable to help himself. When he pulls away, he somehow finds the strength to untangle himself, reaching for her empty glass so that he can set them down as he says, “I missed you, too. I rarely ever slept when I went back to that place.”

Julian turns back around to find Nox climbing into bed, slipping under the covers with a relieved huff, and he smirks to himself as she burrows into the pillows. She’s obviously planning to stay here until it’s time for her to start getting ready, so he doesn’t fuss—just throws himself onto the other side of the mattress, making her giggle as she bounces and he assumes a seductive pose.

He winks rakishly at her, which makes her giggle even more, before he says conversationally, “I’ll have to make sure I get a rose for tomorrow night. This pose doesn’t work as well without the rose between the teeth.”

Laughing, Nox shakes her head and says, with so much love in her voice, “You’re such a dork.”

He grins, glad that she’s feeling better. “And I’m about to be officially, _legally_ , _your_ dork.”

“Mm. I can’t wait.”

Raising an eyebrow, he asks. “Not gonna take your last chance to run? You sure you’re not secretly in love with someone else?”

“Well,” she mumbles thoughtfully, “I was in love with my best friend for, like, ten years. His name was Julian. I think you’d have liked him.”

Julian rolls onto his back, hand behind his head as he frowns at the ceiling. “Hmm. _Julian_ , huh? He sounds like a ponce.”

She snorts. “That’s just as well, really. We did have a passionate love affair for a bit.”

“Is that so?”

“Mhm.”

“How long did that last?”

“Well, about that—I’m afraid I have some bad news for you.”

He has to fight to keep the grin off his face as he lets out a gasp. “You’re _still_ seeing him?”

She takes too long to respond, snickering to herself, shaking her head, and he can tell from her gigglesnort that follows that the drink really had loosened her up a little (and distantly, he wonders how much wine she must’ve had back in her room). He takes a moment to slip under the covers himself, turning on his side to tangle one of his legs through hers, sliding his arm around her waist and leaning in to press a kiss to her forehead.

“I take it you’re feeling better?” he guesses, and she nods.

“Much better, thanks.”

They stare at each other for a beat, his fingers making little figure eights against the small of her back, before she leans in and kisses him—softly at first, and then a little deeper, propping herself up on her elbows to get a better angle.

He’s just starting to feel a little warmer when she stops and breathes, “What kind of kiss are we doing tomorrow?” into his lips.

Julian blinks at her confusedly when she pulls back, worrying her lower lip between her teeth as she pleads with him with her eyes. Smiling a little, he asks, “Are you really worried about that?”

“I’ve been worried about that since I first learned that you had to kiss in front of your entire family at your wedding,” Nox says seriously. “Like, you know, obviously we don’t wanna go full on tongue-in-throat about it, or even any tongue at all, but like? One short one? A long one? Several little ones in a row and then a long one? Are you gonna dip me? Should I dip you to be funny? I—”

“ _Nox_ ,” he cuts her off with a laugh. “Breathe.” Moving his hand from around her waist, he reaches up to stroke delicately at her cheek. “Do you really want me to tell you how I plan to kiss you?”

“ _Yes_.”

He chuckles again, not because the sight of her anxiety is funny, but because this is the first time he’s seen her genuinely stressed about _anything_ during this whole entire gruesome process. The fact that it’s over something as simple as the kiss is a little funny—she hadn’t been worried about the flower arrangements or the cake or even the venue, really, but the _kiss_ …

“Well,” he begins thoughtfully, cupping her cheek now, thumb brushing over her lower lip “assuming you’re still standing there after the _I do_ s… I suppose I’ll kiss you something like this.”

He leans in and then hesitates against her lips, feeling her anticipation for a beat before he seals the deal, counting to three before he pulls away again. Simple, classy, and still romantic. A solid performance for their entire families, if he did say so himse—

“That’s it?”

His eyebrows raise of their own accord, and he blinks at her. “That’s _it?”_ he repeats. “You didn’t like it?”

“I mean, it was fine, but…”

“ _Fine_?” He’s more amused than offended, really, laughing as she shrugs.

“It wasn’t—I don’t know. You didn’t seem very excited? Or happy?”

“Nox, I’m always happy to be kissing you, but it is, like, 2 in the morning,” he tells her simply, brushing her bangs out of her eyes only for them to fall right back into place. “You know I’ll probably be all weepy and snotty and hiccuping by the time we get to the kiss anyway, if we’re being honest. You might not want me to kiss you very much when the time comes.”

That makes her smile. “You think you’re going to cry?”

He rolls onto his back with a scoff, opening his arms so that she snuggles up to him immediately, resting her chin on his chest. “Please. I don’t _think_ I’m going to cry—I _know_ I’m going to cry.” Propping his head up with the hand he doesn’t have wrapped around her waist, he grins at her as he says, “You really have no idea how much this whole thing… I’m so in love with you, Nox. I never thought I’d ever even get to kiss you, let alone _marry_ you. I’ll be more surprised if I _don’t_ blubber my way through the ceremony.”

She looks touched as she tilts her head at him. “You know… part of the reason I came and crawled into your bed is because I haven’t slept more than, I don’t know, 8 hours this whole week.”

“ _What?_ Are you okay?”

She just hums. “I can’t sleep without you and your breathing and your heartbeat anymore,” she confesses, voice barely above a whisper. “Whenever you have to be out late or spend the night somewhere else because of family or something, I usually just stay up and wait for you. Same when I have to take trips without you. I barely sleep until I get home.”

There’s a feeling like something blooming in his chest as he considers this, trailing his fingers up and down her spine as he thinks. “That’s why you always want to take a nap with me when we get home.”

Nox nods sagely. “I love you. It’s possible I’m a little bit addicted to you.”

He snorts, rubbing at his face. “I love you, too, and _addicted_ doesn’t even feel like a strong enough word to begin to describe what I feel for you.”

“Good thing we’re getting married, huh?” she jokes lightly. She settles down on his chest, resting her left hand over his heart and hooking her leg over his hip. “Plus, you’re really, truly, very, _extremely attractive_ , in every possible way. Sometimes it’s hard to even look you in the eye.”

He barks out a laugh then, clutching at her hand on his chest, tipping his head back into the pillow as he tries to quiet himself down again. The sheer number of times he’s had to look away from her because she’s just _so goddamn beautiful_ —and it turns out she feels the exact same way about him.

Incredible.

“Nox, I feel the exact same way about you.”

He can feel her torso shake as she chuckles. “Hmm, I know. You still get nervous sometimes.” She tilts her head to look at him, smiling sweetly. “It’s really cute.”

He smiles, but sleep is starting to drag at his mind, as he’d barely gotten any sleep this week either and having her next to him again is _really_ helping, so all he can think to say after a moment is, “ _You’re_ cute.”

Nox giggles, and buries her face in his shirt with a quiet sigh. “...I’m sleepy.”

“Me, too.”

She hums, both of them already struggling with words. He’d begun fiddling with her ring where he held her hand over his heart, but as he starts to drift, his hand begins to go still.

He’s only halfway sure that one of them mumbles _goodnight_ before sleep finally takes him.

 

* * *

 

When he wakes, the pale light of early dawn is bathing the room in pastel blue, and from where he’s turned on his side, he can see the horizon starting to change color—soon the sky would be bursting with pinks and purples and orange. He checks his watch curiously, and finds that he’s woken up just in time to stop the alarm from going off.

Which is a good thing, because a very tired Nox is still sleeping beside him, hair a mess, one leg hiked over the comforter where she’d gotten too hot in the night, mouth slack as she breathes softly into the pillow. He watches her sleep for a moment, eyes his favorite freckle—a slightly darker one just under her left eye, almost a beauty mark instead of a freckle, and then sighs.

...he’s getting married today.

He’s getting _married_. _Today._ To _her!_

Heart leaping in his chest, a sensation like he’s about to up and start floating away because he feels so light with happiness, he nearly jumps out of bed as excitement sends adrenaline pumping through his veins.

He pauses as he starts to gather his things for the day, casting another glance at the bed. It’s barely 4:30 right now, but he’s sure that Adore and Pasha probably have something planned for her this morning. He really should wake her, but she’d been so _tired_ that he feels bad about it.

He’ll let her sleep a little longer. He can wake her up after his shower…

She’s facing the other direction when he re-emerges from the bathroom about a half hour later, smelling good and feeling good. With a towel slung around his shoulders, and another around his waist, he pads over to the other side of the bed, sitting carefully beside her and taking a moment to appreciate the sunrise. Gently, he reaches out and brushes her messy hair back from her face, smiling when her brows furrow a little at the disturbance.

“Nox,” he calls softly, running his hand through her hair again. “It’s morning, my love.”

She just hums, but doesn’t even move to open her eyes.

Ahh, he knows how she feels, but alas…

He leans down and presses a kiss to her cheek, nuzzling at her jaw as he mumbles, “Nox. Come on. We’ve got things to do today. The sun is already up.”

“Mm,” she grumbles, though she does turn her head towards him as he presses a few more insistent, soft kisses to the side of her face. “Fuck the sun.”

He snorts, burying his face in her shoulder. When he peeks up at her, she’s grinning, but still stubbornly refusing to open her eyes.

“Nox, we’re getting married today.”

 _That_ wakes her up, though she’s still a little bleary eyed as she looks at him finally. Her face is flushed, and her smile is almost bashful as she repeats, “We’re getting married today.”

They grin at each other for a moment, and he strokes a gentle hand over her forehead as he murmurs a quiet, “Hey.”

“Hey,” she replies easily, biting her lip as she reaches up to catch his hand and press a kiss to his palm. “Good morning.”

“Morning.” He leans in and kisses her, lingering before he pulls back and says, “As much as I’d like to spend the rest of the morning with you…”

“Are you chasing me out finally?” she asks dryly, rolling onto her back and stretching gracefully.

“Mm, I am, but only because I know my sister and Adore will probably never let either of us live it down if they catch you in here with me.” Nox sits up and rubs at her eyes as he adds, “Plus, imagine the chaos if they find your room empty and think you’ve run away and left me at the altar.”

She groans loudly as that particular image flashes through her mind, leaning forward to bury her face into his bare shoulder for a moment. When she speaks, it’s a half-hearted mumble, “I’m so tired, Ilya.”

“You can sleep more in your room,” he assures her. “We’re not getting married until sunset—and you don’t really have anything to do until you walk down the aisle.”

She sighs heavily, clearly unhappy about the thought of going back to her own room. When she pulls away again, he smiles and says, “Why don’t you take my pillow with you? I’ll even spritz it with cologne if you want so you can try to catch a couple more hours.”

Nox doesn’t seem thrilled with that suggestion, but she does nod and say, “That might work.”

It doesn’t seem like enough, because she still looks upset. Curious, he reaches up and nudges her chin until she looks at him.

Stroking his thumb across her cheek, he tilts his head and asks, “You okay?”

She nods. “I’m just… ready for us to be on our honeymoon. I miss you.”

He grins widely, cheeks warm, and chuckles as he leans in and kisses her again—once, twice, three times. “All the more reason for you to go try and get some more sleep. Less time conscious means less time you have to miss me, right?”

She shakes her head, leaning after him when he goes to pull away for one more kiss. “You’d think that, but I miss you even in my sleep, I think.”

“You’ll survive, my dear. I know you will.”

She whines a little but nods anyway. He stands, offering her his hands and pulling her to her feet when she takes them.

Eye level with his chest, it seems like it’s only now clicking in her mind that he’s half naked.

“You’re gonna kick me out dressed like this? How cruel can you get?” She laughs, pressing a hand teasingly to the sharp curve of his hip bone. “No time for a quickie, you think?”

“ _Nox_ ,” he laughs, catching her hand and pulling it away. Under other circumstances, maybe he’d say yes, but he has _way_ too many things to do today. They’ll have all night anyway.

She laughs too, moving away from him to walk around the bed and snatch his pillow, hugging it to her chest and burying her face in it, closing her eyes as she takes a deep breath. “Alright, alright,” she sighs as she moves for the door. “I’m going.”

He walks her to the door, holding it open by the top as she pauses just before she steps into the hallway to turn and look at him.

“See you at the altar?” She smiles hopefully up at him, and he grins as he leans down and kisses her one more time.

“At the altar. Go get some rest.”

“I love you,” she reminds him as he goes to shut the door, and he laughs.

“I love you, too. Get going before someone sees you.”

The last thing he hears from her as he shuts the door is her calling _I love you more_ , and he has to take a moment, leaning against the cold door, to calm his heartbeat.

God, he loves her.

And he’s going to marry her today.

**Author's Note:**

> this was meant to be part of a longer fic that i'm not sure i'll ever get around to, so i'm going to post it here for julian's birthday ;w;
> 
>  **edit:** oh yeah Adore, who was mentioned briefly, belongs to the lovely and wonderful [@wardenchampion](http://wardenchampion.tumblr.com)


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